Bad Vacation
by themodernteen
Summary: Following a string of jewelry heists, Flash tracks a new breacher in town. The meta-human manipulates the speed force in Barry's cells, leaving him powerless and unable to heal. When he sends the injured Flash to Supergirl's world, the DEO team races to heal Barry and get him back to Star Labs before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1

**In light of the ending of Flash season 3, here's a fresh new fanfic! I don't own any Flash characters or material. Leave me a review/fav/follow!**

Barry opened his eyes and looked around tiredly when an alarm woke him from his slumber. He was outstretched on the couch, his phone resting on his chest and vibrating with the immediate message: ** _Meta-Human Attack._**

Urgency rushed through him and he bolted to his feet, sprinting out the door at a superhuman speed. He tried to shake the remnants of sleep from his eyes as he rushed through the Star Labs entrance and exited a moment later clad in his red Flash suit.

"Cisco," he pressed the com in his mask, "tell me what we've got."

"Barry, we've got a robbery on 5th, head down to Central Jewelers," Cisco informed him in his ear.

"Got it," he let his hand go, a sense of pride running through him as he felt grateful to his team. They were always supportive and without them, he'd never make it.

Barry skidded to a stop in front of Central Jewelers, eyes scanning the vicinity in search of this new meta. He checked the perimeter and nothing, no movement. There was no sign of anyone, definitely no evil meta-human. The lights were off, the alarm was ringing, the glass cases were shattered, but no suspect.

"Cisco," confused, Barry signaled for his team again, "hey, there's no one here. Did they leave? Was I too late?"

"Impossible," he could hear the frustration and shock seep into Cisco's tone as well, "that can't be true, Barry. The alarm just went off moments ago, whatever meta-human was robbing the place should still be there, he couldn't have outrun you."

 _Outrun me? Now that's something you don't hear every day…_

"What? A teleporter?"

"No, I'm not getting any signals," came the response.

"The place is cleaned out," Barry looked at the broken cases with missing jewelry, "thousands of dollars worth of jewelry taken."

"Wait, Barry! Robbery in progress, 13th street! Bayside Jewelry!"

"On it!" Barry was already sprinting out of the place when Cisco started to relay the message. He felt anger bubble inside him and shame. Why couldn't he catch this guy? Was he losing his touch? He topped 800 mph as he tore down the streets, street lamps sparking as he blew them out when he passed by.

"Cisco, I'm here!" Barry panted as he hit yet another jewelry. Inside was the same result: lights off, alarm blaring, cases shattered, jewelry gone, and no perpetrator, "Damn it! He's gone!"

"Barry, you're not gonna believe this-"

"Where?" he growled with determination.

"48th, Alexander Jewels."

He flew once more, "Look for a pattern, Cisco, scope nearby jewelry parlors he can hit next!"

"Already mapping a route!"

"Closest ones?"

"Uh…looks like there's one on the corner of 53rd!"

"I'm going there," Barry affirmed.

"But, the robbery on 48th-"

"By the time I get there, he'll be gone, Cisco, I'm staking it out at 53rd."

"All right, I'll get Joe on the line and have him send some men out to guard a few other spots. Be careful, Barry!"

Barry nodded and let go, his mind engulfed with catching this thief. He had to have been using some teleportation or power to transport him so rapidly from one parlor to the other. When he screeched to a stop on 53rd street, the jewelry store looked intact. The door was locked, no break-ins, and the alarm wasn't sounding. The robber wasn't there yet.

Barry ducked behind the corner, his eyes glued to the store waiting to see how this meta-human evaded him so many times. It was quiet and eerie for a few minutes, the block silent with the sounds of downtown in the distance filling the night air.

A blue flash of light caught Barry's eye and he inched closer to the store entrance to get a better look. He saw a man step out of a breach, the ones that Cisco created when he "vibed" or when he travelled inter-dimensionally.

"Cisco? Can you hear me?" he whispered into the com, his eyes widening.

He heard static on the other line, the crackle making his ear itch. The breach must be interfering with the sound waves and frequency.

Barry couldn't call for back-up. Great.

He could handle this, it was just one meta-human.

Barry watched the meta's movements as he gripped a crowbar and shattered the glass cases. He dipped his gloved hand inside and stuffed jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other treasures into a burlap sack greedily.

The only breachers he knew were the ones from Earth-19, Cisco, and a few others. No one had the capability, especially a meta from the streets.

"Hey!" Barry shouted as he leapt through the doorway, catching the thief in action, "Drop it."

The meta-human turned his head quickly, looking in shock as Barry suddenly materialized before him.

"What's your name?" Barry demanded, his tone cold.

The man didn't say a word behind his black ski mask.

"Tell me!"

The meta stomped his foot and a breach appeared by his feet. He threw the sack into it and stood at the brim ready to jump in.

"No!" Barry shouted, sprinting forward to catch the robber before he escaped him once more. From his belt, mid run, Barry unhooked a small device and cupped it in his hand as the meta-human jumped into the air and started to descend into the breach. The Flash outstretched his hand, reaching forward with all his might as he just narrowly stuck the device onto the collar of the meta-human's jacket.

The world sped up, Barry no longer running at super speeds as the meta jumped into the breach and the floor closed up around him. Alarms ringing, lights off, cases broken, Barry touched his mask once more, "Cisco! Track the meta, I tagged him!"

"On it!" he could hear the clacking of computer keys as Cisco rapidly typed in commands, "Barry, I think he's surfacing near downtown, head there!"

He felt the words compute into his own mind and he raced there, glad to have a lead on the meta-human's next location.

"I need a definite location ASAP, Cisco, and a way to trap him," he panted while running, swerving through the streets and dodging obstacles as his lightning trailed behind him.

"Barry," he heard a new voice.

"HR?"

"Think of the Gypsy," the the Earth-19 Wells advised, "breachers all have a weakness, use it against him!"

He nodded to himself, trying to calm himself down and prepare to outsmart this mysterious meta. He would catch this man, he would take him in.

"Cisco, anything?"

"Just landed at the docks, Barry, head there."

"On my way," he sprinted forward, the world a blur around him as he hit sonic speed and zoomed through the city, stopping when his feet hit cold, wet cement. The bay was quiet, the boats still far off on the horizon. A blue glow caught his eye and Barry stealthily snuck forward, planning to catch the breacher by surprise.

The meta-human stepped through the small, glowing wormhole, looking around warily for the Flash. Barry kept his eyes glued to the thief, calming his breathing and observing his movements once more. He definitely kept watch of his back, making sure nothing snuck up on him, but that left his peripheral vulnerable. If he could advance from the wing, the meta-human would be less likely to strike as fast.

He waited till the robber angled his body so his side was facing Barry, and then he propelled forward. The Flash barreled into the meta-human, tackling him down onto the moist cement. He felt the wind leave the meta's lungs as they crashed to the floor. Disoriented, the thief stayed down, writhing on the floor, but Barry quickly propped up, looking down.

"Cisco!" he spoke victoriously into the com, "I've got him! Tell HR thank you!"

"Sweet, Bar!" Cisco returned just as enthusiastically, "Bring him back, we've got a nice little spot for him in the pipeline."

"Got it," he smiled, letting his hand go. He approached the meta-human, slightly tapping him with his boot. He narrowed his brows in concern; the thief was unconscious, eyes closed and hardly moving.

"Hello?" Barry called, "You okay?"

 _I didn't hit him that hard…_

Barry knelt down towards the meta-human, fear washing through him. He was fine, he had to be fine, he wasn't dead, Barry didn't kill him.

"Hey," his gloved hands grabbed the lapel of his jacket and shook him, "can you hear me?"

"Barry?" he heard the static voice of Cisco on the other end, "What's going on? You haven't moved."

"Cisco," a panic started to creep into Barry's voice, "the meta is not waking up."

"What do you mean?"

"I-I just tackled him to the floor, nothing major," Barry started to pace.

"Look, Bar, don't freak out. Go check for a pulse."

"O-Okay, right."

He rushed back over to the fallen meta-human, kneeling in close again. His two fingers pressed under the robber's neck, when suddenly the thief's eyes shot open.

"Whoa!" Barry jumped back.

The meta used Barry's shock as an advantage and sprung to his feet. Barry growled at his stupidity for being fooled by this meta-human, absolutely determined to put him away now.

"You like my acting?" the meta mocked.

"Save it for the trial date," Barry retorted.

"You seemed so concerned," he had an evil smile on his face.

Barry growled in anger.

"Come get me, Flash," he laughed heartily, a malignant glare in his eye as a breach opened up behind him.

The meta-human jumped through, but this time Barry was prepared. He sailed through the wormhole, following the thief as he traveled through the tear in dimensions and exited into another part of town.

The meta looked behind him in shock at Barry's persistence. The Flash surged forward and grabbed the meta by his collar, throwing him up against a wall.

"Enough!" Barry shouted.

The thief struggled under his grip, clawing at Barry's gloved hands as he fought to break free. In retaliation, the meta-human pointed to the floor and a breach opened under Barry's feet. He shouted in surprise as the ground dematerialized under him and he fell through. He did manage to keep his grip on the meta's jacket and pulled him under as well.

"Barry!" he heard a yell in his ear, "What's going on?"

"Cisco," Barry yelled as he was sailing through the breach again and tumbled on the asphalt of another location in Central City, "the breacher keeps evading me, I need tips!"

He hauled himself to his feet and raced after the meta-human sprinting for a bus whose doors were near closing. Barry reached him just in the knick of time as he pulled him away and the meta went rolling behind him.

"I can play this game all day," the meta laughed, spitting blood.

"Well, I won't," Barry shook his head resolutely, carefully watching the meta's hands and eyes.

"Barry," Cisco started again, "I can't tell if he's got a device to open the breaches or it's his inherent powers."

"Who are you talking to?" the meta observed as Barry's hand went up to his ear instinctively, "is that part of your team, Flash? A meta perhaps?"

"How'd you get your powers?" he asked coldly.

"A little of this, a little of that," the meta rubbed his fingers together, "like magic."

"Particle accelerator explosion?"

"What else?" the thief growled back, pent up anger burning through in his tone.

"Look, I can help you, give me a chance," Barry tried to reason.

"Never."

"Please-"

"No!"

The breacher thrust his hand forward and a blue beam erupted from it in Barry's direction. He managed to dodge it, but it hit the far wall, opening up into a breach.

"Cisco!" he yelled, "It's his own abilities!"

"Is that another breacher you're talking too?" the meta's interest piqued, "Ha! I didn't think there was anyone else!"

"Calm down, he can help you out, he knows how to control the power," Barry nodded, trying to slowly mediate the tension.

"I do too," the meta human looked at his clenched fist, "but it took me years. If there was another breacher, then I'd know…looks like your breacher needs a device to make his breaches, whereas I can do it all by myself," he glared at Barry, smiling evilly.

"Dodge, Barry!" Cisco shouted in his ear.

Barry dove for the cement, his shoulder painfully cracking against the hard flooring, but he soared to his feet and felt the tissue already start to mend. Where he was standing moments ago, the meta-human opened a breach where the Flash would've been sucked into the unknown.

"Give it up, Flash!" he threw another breach and Barry dodged.

HR was back on the line, "Barry, disorientate him! Lightning Strike!"

Barry shook his head to get his bearings then started to circle the meta-human in a perimeter of lightning. He moved so fast, he caught up with his own lightning and gripped the bolt, hurling it at the meta-human. It hit him, knocking the thief off his feet and throwing him back against the floor. Barry surged forward, grabbing the handcuffs from his belt to finally put this meta to rest.

"A speedster, huh?" the meta huffed wearily, but still had that persistent humor, "you're pretty fast."

"That's usually how it works," Barry gritted his teeth, looming over the thief.

"Where do you get your speed from? The speed force, right?"

"What?" Barry was taken aback. _How does he know about the speed force?_

"Oh, I know a lot of things," the meta tried to shakily get to his knees, it was like he read his mind, "like how to manipulate it."

"Cisco?" Barry tried to get some help from his Star Labs support, but they were probably equally as stunned.

"Your little breacher friend can't help you out," the meta climbed to his feet, swaying slightly, "he doesn't know."

"Know what?" Barry demanded, "Tell me!"

"I'd rather show you," the robber smiled and opened a breach directly behind Barry. He was caught off guard, feeling the pull of the wormhole suck him in.

"No!" Barry tried clawing forward, trying to use his speed to escape, but the meta charged forward and kicked Barry straight in the stomach. The Flash went flying back into the breach, disappearing in its depths.

The com from his ear clattered to the floor, and the meta-human strolled to it. He picked it up and rolled it between his fingers as a frantic voice from the other end spoke into it.

"Hey! Can you hear me, Flash? What's going on!?"

"Don't worry," the meta held it to his ear, "your little hero will be back."

Cisco was silent for a moment before returning in a callous voice, "If you hurt him…"

"Trust me, just track the Flash. You'll see where he ends up. In 5…4…3….2…"

The meta looked up as he heard a yell from up above. Barry went plunging to the floor from 15 feet in the air and landed on the ground hard. He groaned and rolled on his side slowly, tears in his suit, and blood oozing from a few scrapes.

"W-what did you do to me?" Barry shakily tried to sit up, but fell back down. He felt his injuries in full force, but no healing.

"A little improvement," the meta placed a foot on the Flash's chest in a sign of victory.

Barry urged himself to get up, sprint away, for his wounds to heal, but it didn't happen. He was sucked into a breach and immediately knew he was in the speed force. The way his cells felt charged when he entered was only the effects of the dimension calling to him, energizing him. Then, all of a sudden, it was like thousands of little needles were piercing his skin, doing something to his cells…Next, he found himself 15 feet in the air and plunging to the floor, like it was all some scary roller coaster ride.

"I-I can't heal," panic creeped into his voice as he looked at his bleeding cuts, "What did you do to me?!"

"The speed force is just another dimension, Flash, one that can be controlled like all the others," the meta looked down at Barry with a passionate hate burning in his eyes, "you can't run, you can't heal, you're powerless."

Barry felt dread course through him. This couldn't be happening…he was powerless?

"Let's test the theory," from his belt, the thief pulled out a gun quick as lightning and fired a bullet in his leg.

Barry screamed as pain flooded through him, blood seeping from his wounded leg. At this point, the bullet would slide out of his mending skin, the tissues starting to patch together, but there was no healing factor this time. Just pure, excruciating pain.

"It worked," the meta-human smiled, enjoying Barry's cries.

Barry gritted his teeth, trying to bite down on his lip to stop him from shouting again. This hurt. He'd been shot before, but the effects were dimmed due to his healing factors.

"Now, for another test…"

Hell no.

Barry arched his back forward, his skull colliding with the meta's as he head-butt him. The meta-human yelled, holding his head as he toppled back. Barry scrambled to his feet, limping off in the other direction in search of sanctuary or a weapon. He felt defenseless without his powers, like a puppet for this meta-human to play with. His head hurt, his leg was searing with pain, and he couldn't heal.

"Where are you going, Flash?" the meta taunted, calling after him.

He heard heavy footsteps behind him and Barry knew that the relatively uninjured meta-human would catch up to him. He tried to stand his ground, but he felt a heavy shoe collide with his abdomen and he went tumbling to the floor. The blood loss was getting to him, his leg still bleeding profusely, and dizziness clouded his brain.

"Just one last touch," the distant, distorted voice of the meta-human swam through his mind as he struggled to get to his elbows and pull himself up once more.

Rough hands grabbed his shoulders and turned him around, slamming his spine down into the cement as he ached with pain from head to toe. He saw a glint of sharp metal in his blurry vision and an evil grin.

He felt a sensation from his muddled senses, but it didn't take long for his abdomen to heat up like a fire. Soon, it hit him full-fledged, and he shouted as something pierced through the skin of his side.

"You like that?" The meta laughed callously, "I sharpened my knife really well tonight."

He lifted his head and Barry looked down to see a long, sharp knife digging through his hip, cutting through the skin, and blood seeping out.

Barry yelled in pain, an excruciating fire coursing through him. This made the shoulder wound seem like a paper cut as the meta-human relentlessly dug into his skin. It all blurred together-the pain, the anger, the fear, the suffering, and he soon felt his vision spotted with black dots.

"Oh, no, no, no," he felt hands slap his cheek and his eyes fluttered open as the meta's eyes lined up with his own, "not yet, Flash, not just yet. You see, you might want the knife out of you, but as of this moment that's the only thing keeping you from bleeding out! So, you see the conflict we're in?"

Barry's head hit the cement again, exhaustion flooding through him as his body willed for this onslaught to stop.

"And now for my last trick," he heard a shuffle of movement and the meta-human got to his feet, wincing slightly at his sore body from being thrown around a little by the Flash. He relished in the sight of the Scarlet Speedster sprawled on the floor, wounded and helpless, "time for a long getaway, Flash."

"W-what are you doing?" Barry opposed weakly, "stop…please…"

"Can I believe my ears, or is the Flash begging? Someone videotape this for me! Ha! It's too late, _hero_ , but I think you need a little vacation…"

"No, no-"

Barry shook his head, his eyes widening in horror as the ground collapsed beneath him, a blue light started to glow around his body, and he sank into the breach, his destination unknown.

 **Chapter 2 coming soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the support with the story ! Here's chapter two for you guys ! Leave me some love with a review/fav/follow !**

Alex Danvers strolled through the DEO facility confidently. It was after hours, majority of the staff had cleared out and went home, but this seemed like home to her. She loved it here, really found herself and discovered her true potential within these walls.

Hank Henshaw came striding in only moments later, looking at a file in his hands. He looked up in surprise at Alex too, "You're still here?"

"Can't seem to leave," Alex shrugged with a smile, "I like it here."

Hank nodded in empathy, "I can relate. Sometimes, the DEO seems like the only place I can think."

"Yeah," Alex agreed, "something to keep me grounded with everything going on."

Hank shrugged, "The world wouldn't go around without a little conflict, Alex. It's a fact of life."

Alex conceded, "I guess you're right, but sometimes I wish it would be a little less complicated."

"We monitor the Department of Extranormal Operations with multiple alien beings on staff. How simple did you think life would be?"

Before she could answer, Alex's phone started buzzing and she fished it out of her pocket. The caller ID said Maggie and she answered the call fondly.

"Hey," she smiled, "what's going on?"

"Alex," her partner's tone was a little more serious, slightly panicked.

"Maggie? What happened?"

Hank lifted his head up from his files, staring at Alex in question at the sudden turn in events.

Maggie started speaking like rapid fire, the words leaving her mouth so fast Alex had trouble keeping up.

"Maggie, j-just slow down, okay?" Alex tried to calm her down, "Tell me from the beginning."

After hearing her story for the first few minutes, Alex stood still in shock, "W-what…? How…? Where did…? Okay…okay, I'll be there….Did you call Kara…? No…? Okay…I'll tell her….see you soon….bye."

Hank set the papers on the desk, looking at Alex in concern, "What's going on?"

Alex sighed and turned around, "We've…got a situation."

Kara was sitting on her couch with Mon-El, her head in his lap as they both took a relaxing night to watch TV in her apartment. She finally had a day of rest, as if all the evil aliens had decided to cut her some slack and give her a well-deserved night to herself.

"This is nice," she smiled, cuddling up to Mon-El who laughed.

"I know," he nodded, "I think this is the first time I've actually spent some quality time with you since I've told you my real identity."

She looked up at him, "Yeah, I guess you're right. This feels real, Mon-El, like we're finally…true with each other."

"Kara, you know how many times I can't apologize for lying to you," Mon-El's face drooped, "I wanted to tell you so many times-"

"Shh," she put a hand to his lips, "enough talk…unless those lips can do something else?"

"Oh," he raised his eyebrows, "you can be the judge of that."

He leaned down and her lips met his halfway. It was a passionate kiss, one that she felt deep in her heart as she accepted her feelings for Mon-El wholeheartedly. It was the perfect night.

It was the perfect night up until her cell phone started to ring.

"Ugh," she pulled away, "I'm sorry…"

"No, no, it's okay," Mon-El ran a hand through his hair, "yeah, yeah, it's okay. It's probably important."

"It'll just be a second," she jumped off the couch and ran to the table, rummaging through her bag. She saw her sister's name on the caller ID, "Alex! I told you not to call me tonight, you knew that Mon-El and I-"

"Kara!"

"Alex…?"

"Come quick, the Italian restaurant on the corner of 4th Street."

"O-okay, but are you all right?"

"Just get here….fast."

Alex closed the line and the dial tone echoed in her ear.

"Kara?" Mon-El looked at her from the couch, "Everything good?"

"I'm sorry," she shook her head, "I've got to go…"

His shoulders sagged but he nodded, "I understand….go kick some ass."

"Rain check?" she looked at him hopefully.

He nodded, "I'll meet you at the DEO?"

"Sure, I'm not sure what we're dealing with, but Alex sounded nervous."

"Alex? Nervous?" Mon-El stood up, "I'd better get there quick. Need any help?"

"I've got it!" she called as she ran out the door.

"Slow down, Winn, just tell me what happened," Maggie held up her hands, trying to calm down the wired Winn who was pacing before her. Her squad car was parked in the driveway of the Italian restaurant, the customers all lined outside behind caution tape and watching as they evacuated the restaurant, "Start from the top."

"I-I don't know," he dry washed his face, "It just happened all of a sudden and-"

"Winn!"

He turned around to see Alex and Henshaw running their way, avoiding the news cameras and suspicious looks from the spectators.

"Oh, thank God," Winn sighed in relief, "Where's Kara?"

"Here!" They heard a voice above as Kara smoothly landed in between them, looking at all of them in question, "Now, someone tell me what's going on. Alex, you sounded urgent. Is everything okay?"

"Inside," Maggie nodded at the restaurant's entrance, "Winn was just telling me the details."

"Go on," Henshaw motioned for Winn to continue.

"W-well, I was just out to dinner with a date…then I heard a scream, then I saw him-"

 _"_ _Him?"_ Alex interrupted.

Winn nodded.

"Who's _him_?" Kara repeated.

"Go inside and see for yourself…" Winn stood back and allowed them to walk by to go to the entrance.

Kara led the way, Henshaw and Alex in close pursuit. The air was tense, suspense looming over them like a wave. The murmurs from the crowd, the hushed voices of police officers and investigators, news teams clamoring to get a look.

What was inside? Rather… _who_ was inside?

Kara opened the restaurant door, keeping it open for the two to follow her in. The dim evening lights provided ample light for them to see, but Kara's x-ray vision allowed her to see everything in perfect clarity.

"There," Alex pointed across the room at a dark figure on the floor. They all turned their heads as ambulances began to arrive at the scene, more cop cars and firetrucks following.

Kara decided to end this anticipation and strode over, her teeth gritted in suspense. The moment she saw what she saw, she gasped. Supergirl felt herself falter, taking a step back in shock and fear.

"Supergirl, what is it?" Alex asked.

"Barry," she whispered.

On the floor, sprawled out, bleeding, and a knife sticking out of his side was Barry Allen, the Flash.

"What the hell is _he_ doing on our world?" Henshaw mumbled, all of them gawking at the fallen hero at their feet.

"What is it?" Mon-El greeted Kara, Alex, Winn, and Henshaw as they all filed in, pushing a gurney.

"Did the press get word of this?" Alex looked back at Winn who was the witness at the scene.

"I saw some cameras, but I don't think they know the details."

"Quick," Kara urged, "take him in the med bay!"

"Who is it?" Mon-El asked Kara as she rushed past, but he looked down at the passing body in the gurney and gasped.

He saw a flash of dark hair, pale skin, a red suit, and a lightning bolt.

 _Barry Allen?_

"Who is he?" Maggie looked at Alex, "You know him? Winn told me to call you, but I didn't think you'd recognize him."

Alex looked at Maggie, explaining quickly, "Briefly. Speedster from another Earth."

"Okay…" Maggie tried to wrap her head around that.

"What happened to him?" Mon-El looked at Winn, "You were there, right?"

"Yeah," he rubbed his neck with his hand, "It all happened so fast…"

"Guys," Kara looked down at Barry and his ashen face, "I don't think he has much time. Explain later, right now he needs to be stabilized."

"Right," Henshaw agreed, "Alex, Mon-El with me to the medical bay with Barry. Winn, finish your statement then hit the computers and try to research how this could've happened. Try to contact his Earth, see what's going on."

Winn nodded and Maggie followed him as he exited the room. Kara looked down in worry at Barry, brushing a hand through his dark hair, "Oh, I hope the others are all right…"

"What do you mean he disappeared!?" Joe roared, looking from HR to Cisco in outrage, "He's gone?!"

"Look, we don't know what happened…" Cisco shook his head, guilt gnawing at him, "the meta-human was a breacher, he could've sent Barry anywhere."

"But you can track him, right?" Julian spoke up, "Like you did last time? A tether of some kind?"

"That was when _I_ sent him," Cisco shook his head, "this meta didn't intend for Barry to return, he could've sent him anywhere with nothing to pull him back."

Caitlin offered a suggestion, "Cisco, can't you go into a breach and attempt to track him? I can send some machinery with you maybe to pick up some vital signals or anything?"

"That would be good," Cisco nodded, "except there's no _specific_ breach, it's endless possibilities and worlds were dealing with here."

Iris came running in with Wally at her side, "Please tell me you've got some news on Barry," she said in a panicked tone.

HR shook his head sadly. No one had ever seen the guy so unenthusiastic.

"Send me into a breach," Wally offered, "I'll go looking for him."

"No," Joe said firmly, "I lost one son, I'm not about to lose another."

"We haven't _lost_ him yet, Dad," Iris corrected, "Barry is still out there."

"I can try to search," Cisco shrugged, "but it'll be nearly impossible. Like trying to find the smallest needle ever made in an infinitely large haystack."

"No, those odds will get us nowhere," Julian shook his head, "there has to be some other way."

"Vibe the meta-human," Iris looked to Cisco, "you can look into his mind, see where he sent him."

"That could work," Caitlin turned to the engineer for confirmation.

"It's definitely worth a shot," a small smile started to grow on his face, "but we need to trap him."

"Leave that to me," Wally clenched his fists, "HR," he looked to the Earth-19 Wells, "help me warm up?"

"You got it, Wallace," he followed him out, a little more skip in his step with a sense of purpose.

"I'll go suit up," Cisco followed them out of the cortex, leaving Julian, Caitlin, Iris, and Joe alone to ponder over Barry's whereabouts.

 **Chapter 3 coming soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for my followers and fans! I love it! Please leave me some more love with a review/fav/follow and let me know what you think!**

"His vitals are extremely low," Alex looked at the monitors beeping at her rapidly, "a few more hours, and Barry Allen would've been dead. I'm shocked he isn't already."

Alex was no doctor, but she had some medical training and an EMT license. Henshaw had called in the DEO doctors and medical staff to tend to Barry, but they wouldn't get here fast enough. She put some of her knowledge to use and acted as leading physician in his case.

"But he has healing powers," Kara looked at her in confusion, "he shouldn't be injured in the first place."

"No time to ask," Henshaw silenced Kara, "Alex, what's the verdict?"

"Stab wound has pierced his organs," she looked at the knife protruding from Barry's side in worry, "the bullet wound's not clean, it's still in his leg, probably pierced the bone. He has a few dislocated vertebrae," she held up an x-ray scan of his spine, then turned back as she lifted his suit to examine his bruised abdomen, "I can't tell if he's bleeding internally, but the bruises here suggest he was kicked with something hard, most probably a steel-toed boot."

"Oh no...Barry..." Kara turned away, hardly able to look at her friend in this condition. He was always so careful and fair, who could do this to him?

"How long has he been like this?" Henshaw took a deep breath.

"At an estimate," she looked at the charts and vitals on the monitor, "two or three hours tops. He has major blood loss, except…"

"Except what?" Kara urged.

"The knife," she looked at the glinting metal once more, "it's stopping him from bleeding out, but I fear that the second I remove it, Barry will be done for."

"No," Kara denied, "I can use my heat vision and cauterize the wound."

"And burn him to a crisp?" Alex gave her a look of outrage, "Kara, I know he's your friend, but think logically."

"He's a meta-human, he doesn't have the same body as a regular human does."

"But you said he has healing abilities, and it doesn't look like they're working!"

Winn came barging in and interrupted the sisters. He had his tablet in hand and a look of stress and concentration on his face.

"Anything?" Henshaw asked.

"A little," Winn nodded, "a breach opened just a few hours ago a couple blocks away from the restaurant. I assume that's where the Flash first entered this Earth."

"Any leads on who opened it?" Henshaw questioned further.

"Not yet," he shook his head, "I've been trying to contact the STAR Labs team, but it's like something is blocking me…."

"Blocking?" Kara stressed, "Something is purposely sealing you off?"

"At a guess, I'd say so."

Before any of them could speak, Barry moaned lightly.

Kara's eyes went wide, "Barry...?"

The heart monitor went crazy. Jagged lines zigzagged across the screen as Alex ran to get the defibrillator paddles. Barry was going into cardiac arrest.

"Expose the chest!" she ordered and Kara ripped open the torn Flash suit with her super strength like it was paper, "charge to 300 joules...clear!"

She pressed the paddles against Barry's chest and his back arched off the table.

"Nothing," Alex growled, "one more, charging 360 joules...clear!" she pressed it against his chest again. Winn turned away, running a hand through his hair, Henshaw's expression was stony, and Kara had tears in her eyes.

"Come on, Barry, come on," Winn muttered under his breath.

The room was deadly silent for a moment.

Alex was flooded with relief, as Barry's heartbeat finally beeped across the monitor. She slouched back in a chair, her head resting against her chest in sudden weariness as the adrenaline drained from her limbs. Kara didn't move. It was like one sudden movement, and Barry would die. She couldn't even think of that as a possibility.

"Winn," Alex looked at him in urgency, "you need to find a way to contact STAR Labs."

"I-I'm trying, but it'll be hard."

"No, you don't understand," Alex cut him off, "I don't know what's happened to him or his abilities. From his tests, it looks like the speed force is still in his cells, but subdued. I don't know how to activate the powers, I-I don't know anything about _him_!" she gestured to the unconscious Barry Allen lying on the bed, "his anatomy, his cell structure, his proper vitals, nothing."

"Can't we run tests like STAR Labs did and gain the information?" Kara suggested.

"I would love to. Barry is a genetic phenomenon and he's extraordinary. If mankind could harness a fraction of his abilities, think of what could change! We don't have this technology yet, so I don't know what to do. He's running out of options," she looked down at his bony face and ruffled brown hair in alarm, "Star labs had three years worth of observation and test. Barry won't last that long here, he's barely got three hours," Alex hung her head.

"No!" Kara resisted, "There has to be a way!"

"I'll keep looking," Winn dipped his head and backed out of the room, "but unless we can open a breach, then there's nothing we can do. Only STAR Labs has the tech and information to help him."

Cisco was just tweaking his special Vibe glasses, preparing to search relentlessly for the missing speedster. Barry could be anywhere by now, and it was up to Cisco to find him. Julian came in moments later with Caitlin offering to help, but he was just about done.

"Okay," Julian looked at Cisco, "Wally is out there looking for this rogue meta now, HR is in the cortex helping him out. When Wally traps him and brings him here, do we sedate him? It'll bring his defenses down."

"No," Cisco shook his head, "his mind will be unclear otherwise. I won't be able to get his exact location, he needs to be awake and aware."

"Good point," Caitlin agreed, "but will he willingly let you roam his mind? The meta's guard will be up."

"Yes," Cisco's face darkened, "that's the hard part."

" _That's_ the hard part?" Julian's eyebrows raised, "Not searching infinite dimensions for one missing speedster?"

"It's a game of tug-o-war, his mind is the rope and we'll both be pulling. I need to outmatch him and take control using my abilities to easily access Barry's location. Otherwise…"

"He's lost forever," Caitlin finished in a quiet voice.

"And with the extent of his injuries…" Cisco trailed off.

"Yes, how bad were they?" Julian spoke in a hushed voice, "I didn't want to bring it up with the Wests around."

"I'm glad that you didn't," Cisco shivered, "It definitely was bad. I only got what I could from the coms, and it sounded..." he shuddered, "but the worst part is...I-I think he's without his powers."

Julian's mouth dropped.

"Without his powers!?" Caitlin shouted.

"Who?" Joe came strolling in, his tall frame erect with stress. He had an idea who they were talking about, but was silently praying it wasn't true.

The trio was silent for a moment.

"Who?" Joe repeated a bit more sharply.

Julian sighed deeply, "Detective, we think Barry is without his...powers-most notably his healing abilities."

"Okay?" Joe narrowed his eyes, suspicious, "And?"

"He's badly injured," Julian spoke softly, "and we can't know his condition at the moment."

"So, even if you find Barry," Joe took a shaky breath, "my son could be dead already."

"With the way his injuries are, I'd say it's probable," Julian hung his head.

Caitlin silently hit his shoulder. He definitely needed to work on his bedside manner.

"His healing ability was unresponsive last time his communications were up," Cisco explained, "a gunshot wound to the leg, a stab wound to the side, possible spinal injury, and there could be some internal damage as well."

"Damn it!" Joe punched the wall with his fist angrily.

"Look, we'll find him, Joe, " Caitlin tried being optimistic.

"Don't," Julian whispered as he passed by her, his eyes full of rage, "don't give him a semblance of hope when there isn't any."

She watched as he exited the room, head hung, fists clenched, behavior radiating fury.

It wasn't moments later that HR came running into the room.

"Guys, in the cortex, now! Kid Flash found the meta-human!"

Joe was the first one to sprint out of Cisco's lab, followed by the other two as they ran behind HR. They saw up on the monitor Wally's yellow streak tearing through Central City at an alarming rate.

"Look how fast he's moving!" Caitlin commented, eyes wide.

"Oh, yes!" HR cheered, "Wally is fired up!"

"Wally," Julian spoke through his com, "you need to bring him in quick as you can."

"Quick?" they heard Kid Flash on the other end, "Oh, I can do quick."

It took about 3 minutes for Wally to deliver a powerful punch while the breacher was still trying to escape. Wally was determined, a new motive to help him energize his rage and speed. Barry needed their help, and after so many times the Flash had saved him, it was time that Kid Flash did one too.

"I've got him," Wally laughed triumphantly through the com, "on my way."

"Be careful, Wally," Cisco warned, "last time Barry went through the same thing. This meta plays tricks, he might only be pretending to be unconscious and open up a breach the second you let your guard down."

"Be careful," Joe repeated.

Caitlin spoke up, "Move in a little closer, Wally, see if he's actually down."

A tantalizing 30 seconds passed before Wally spoke up again, relief flooding through all of them, "No, he's out. I'm almost positive he's not pretending."

"Exactly how hard did you hit him?" HR scoffed in pride.

"Details, HR," Kid Flash smiled, "I'll be there soon."

"I'll go set up the pipeline," Cisco walked off, Caitlin retreated to the medical bay where she got her kit ready to check the meta's injuries. Even though he was the enemy, they weren't savages. These meta-humans needed treatment too.

Julian went down to Cisco's Lab to meet him and help in any way he could. Joe called Iris to give her the good news of Wally's accomplishment, and HR made a coffee run. They were all determined and full of purpose, like Barry's absence united them to a common cause. There had been some turbulence in the team lately with Barry and Iris' break up, Caitlin and Julian, and Wally's imprisonment in the speed force, but they put their troubles aside and finally cooperated as they should-as a team.

Wally dragged the meta-human behind him as he streaked through the city en route to Star Labs. He burst through the doors and down the multiple floors until he firmly secured the meta-human in the pipeline where he'd stay until he woke up and Cisco would work on him.

Wally took off his mask and stood next to Cisco as the pipeline doors slid closed. He noticed the young engineer's normally cheerful face was dragging down with guilt. He couldn't blame Cisco, even though Joe might a little. There was nothing he could've done, Barry's disappearance wasn't his fault and he placed a hand on his shoulder trying to express that.

Cisco nodded in thanks before walking away, back to his lab where he'd prepare for the vibe that would find Barry once and for all.

Winn typed away on the computer, eyes scanning rapidly at various maps, codes, and signals from the breach Barry emerged from. He pulled up the security footage feed from earlier in the night, watching the surveillance from the camera just across the street. He watched it diligently, then perked up as a breach materialized in the air and thrown against the wall was Barry Allen, The Flash. He winced as he saw Barry tried to roll to his side, holding his stomach as he laid his head back against the brick wall.

 _Focus, Winn, the breach._

He paused the footage, zooming in on the feed. He sharpened the image, trying to peer through the other end of the breach in an attempt to get a glimpse of a location on Barry's world.

"Aha!" he laughed triumphantly, and looked in closer at the image he froze upon, "Henshaw! Come quick, I found something!"

He looked at the image of a man at the other end of the wormhole. It was blurry and a bit shadowed, but there was still a shot he could run it through facial recognition. The man had a black ski mask pulled up on his hairline and an evil glint in his eyes.

"I've got you, you son of a bitch," he smiled in triumph.

Mon-El returned to the med bay with plenty of bandages and fresh medicines. He deposited them on the table, wiping his hands nervously on his shirt as he looked at Barry in the gurney.

"How's it going?" he looked at Alex.

She placed a hand on his forehead, ruffling his hair back a little as she kept it there for a moment, "He's a little warm. This isn't good."

"What does it mean?" Kara immediately looked at her sister.

"Possibly a symptom from an infection," she shrugged doubtfully, "I've got to get the knife out of his side."

"Why haven't you already?" Mon-El tilted his head.

"I'm worried about the blood loss…"

"Blood loss...?"

She rolled down the blankets a little and Mon-El paled when he saw the broken hilt of a knife sticking out of his side.

"Oh, my God…."

"Kara broke off the hilt." Alex looked at Supergirl, "but, it's the only thing stopping him from major blood loss. If I could just contact the Star Labs team then I would know how to proceed correctly."

"Primarily," Hank spoke up from the corner, "if we can find out how to reactivate his healing ability, then pulling the knife out will stop him from certain death."

"Thanks for putting it lightly there, Hank…" Mon-El trailed off.

"I can't sit around any longer," Kara marched for the door.

"Where are you going?" Alex called after her.

"Find a way to open a breach. There has to be an alien around here that can do that."

"Talk to Winn," Henshaw suggested, "have him search the records."

"No, I don't want to break his concentration," she shook her head, "he's working hard. I'll go looking myself."

Alex pursed her lips in disapproval, but let Supergirl go.

"Henshaw! Come quick, I found something!" they heard the muffled voice of Winn from upstairs.

Hank looked from Alex to Mon-El to Barry on the bed, before stepping out and walking upstairs.

"I'm worried about her," Alex spoke to Mon-El indirectly. She didn't really trust him after lying to Kara, but she knew he meant well and really loved her.

"She's the Girl of Steel," Mon-El tried to brighten the mood, but his laugh sounded forced and died out, "I worry too…"

"I know she's indestructible," Alex sighed, "but I feel like it's still my duty to protect her."

"You're her big sister. It's your job."

She chuckled a little.

"I'm gonna go looking for her," Mon-El cleared his throat, "make sure she's okay."

She dipped her head as he backed out of the room.

It was just her and Barry.

She didn't know the speedster long, but she knew that Kara respected and spoke very highly of him. The brief few days he spent at the DEO trying to get back to his Earth, she was wary of him and didn't trust this new mutant with superhuman abilities. But, he was actually kind of charming. She couldn't imagine why someone would want to hurt him like this, but she hoped that they could reach Star Labs in time to find a way to save him.

He looked so helpless and vulnerable in the bed…so different from that picture of strength and heroism of the Scarlet Speedster. Alone, injured, and isolated on another dimension, she couldn't possibly even _begin_ to fathom his fear and pain.

"It's okay, Barry," she reached out and gripped his hand, "we're gonna get you home."

Her brows furrowed in worry as he really did feel hot. She injected some fever reducer in his IV and eyed the knife warily. She put a pressure wrap around the wound, taking as many necessary precautions she could to help with the recovery, but she bit her lip in worry. It couldn't stay in there much longer. She removed the bullet from his leg, but when she pulled it out, it felt like it chipped bone. The poor guy….

If only she knew more about him and his powers. She was sure the Star Labs team would know exactly what to do, but Barry would be dead by then...

"No," she spoke aloud, firmly, "we're going to fix you, Barry, hang in there."

 **Chapter 4 coming soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, you guys are awesome! Thanks for the feedback, I do hope you enjoy this chapter and the rest of the story! Leave me some love with a review/fav/follow!**

"In here!" Cisco called as he heard a rustle come from the hallway. In handcuffs was the breacher, a sizable shiner on his face from Wally. Joe and HR held his arms and pulled him forward, Julian in front, a taser in his hand, the other resting on the gun at his belt, and Wally bringing up the rear.

Caitlin and Iris stood near Cisco, both of them ready behind the control panels to monitor. Iris eyed the meta human with pure rage.

"Put him there," Cisco pointed to a chair in the center of the room with clamps to tie down his wrists and ankles.

The meta muffled something inaudible behind the tape covering his mouth and Joe ripped it off mercilessly

"Ahh," the meta laughed, "getting a little kinky, are we?"

"Quiet!" Joe yelled.

HR and him seated the meta human in the chair, Julian on standby with his taser aimed directly at his chest in case he tried to pull a fast one.

"So..." the meta continued, "this is the Flash team? Looks like you're missing a member.."

"You can go about this the easy or the hard way," Julian's voice was calm but dangerous, "tell us where he is."

"That over-advertised stuntman you call a hero?" he scoffed, "Please, he's just a fraud who gives money to businesses willing to use his name. I'm the real guy with the powers here!"

"The Flash has put away countless meta-humans like you," Iris interjected.

"Iris," Joe soothed. He didn't want her to get involved, for her to be the next target.

"Well, aren't you pretty," he eyed her hungrily, "you the Flash's girl?"

"Enough!" Wally raised his voice, "Last chance, tell us where he is!"

"No."

"Fine," he pursed his lips, "Cisco?" he looked at the young engineer.

He felt a flutter of nervousness in his stomach but Caitlin gave him a supportive nod. He had to do this. Cisco placed the glasses over his eyes and sat across from the meta human looking at him warily.

"Wait...you're the other breacher? You? Ha! This'll be a piece of cake-ah!"

Cisco closed his eyes and placed a hand on the meta-human's knee. Reality disappeared around him as he saw himself delving into the breacher's mind. Flashes of memories passed through, even some of the future as well, from the powerful vibe.

 _Focus, Cisco, find Barry._

He tried to pinpoint a certain location to where he could find Barry when he felt a powerful, painful ache rack through his brain. The meta was fighting back, and he was fighting hard.

Caitlin surged forward when she saw Cisco started to visibly shake, eyes closed and face slack. The meta was the relatively the same as before, but she saw stress lines etched into his forehead.

"What's happening?" Julian was at her side.

'I don't know," she opened one of Cisco's closed eyelids and flashed a penlight into his glassy pupil, "no reaction to light." HR and Joe helped separate the two. They dragged Cisco from his chair and lay him up against the wall as the meta-human lay listless in his chair, eyes closed.

"Caitlin, he's gonna be okay, right?" Wally looked at her with a nervous expression on his face, "H-how are we gonna find Barry otherwise?"

"Guys, he's not waking up," Iris looked at her dad, "we don't know what's happening between them, but we need to figure out some alternatives."

"Alternatives?" Julian turned around, "This was our only option!"

"Hey, calm down," Joe held up a hand, defending his daughter, "I'm just as worried as you are, Julian, but we need to work as a team."

He ran a hand through his hair, "Sorry, Iris…"

"HR," Caitlin looked at the Earth-19 Wells, "Go up in the cortex, look for any other breach activity."

"On it," he turned tail and sprinted out of the cortex with Wally in close pursuit.

"I'm gonna go see if the precinct's pulled anything up," he looked at Cisco with sadness in his eyes, "besides…I can't watch this."

Caitlin and Iris were holding Cisco's shoulders down as he would randomly flinch at times, pain lines etched into his face. The meta sometimes did as well as they didn't realize the mental battle between them.

There was a internal stalemate going on between the two. Cisco was fighting and the meta-human was fighting and that left them trapped in a perpetual state until one gave out finally.

"Come on, Cisco," Julian mumbled to himself, back turned on the two girls, "come on."

"What is it, Winn?" Henshaw came strolling into the cortex, his figure rigid.

"Over here," he pointed at the monitor before him, "I've got something."

"Show me."

"Here," he pointed at a grainy image on the screen. It was a photo of a breach, a close-up image of a figure standing on the other side of the wormhole.

"Are you telling me that that's…"

"Yeah!" Winn looked at him excitedly, "It's the meta-human that sent Barry to this Earth!"

"Excellent," Henshaw nodded in approval, "how can we reach him?"

"I'm still trying to figure that part out," Winn's shoulders sagged slightly, "I'm trying to analyze the figures of the wormhole, but the power seems different from when Cisco created one from Star Labs."

"How so?"

"This power percentage is different, more…raw. Like it was not artificial, but naturally made."

"So this meta-human has abilities to make tears in dimensions," Henshaw replayed that through his head, "immense power like that and it's fallen into the wrong hands."

"Just our luck," Winn scoffed, "I'm gonna contact Kara, see if she's found anything."

"Winn?"

"Yes, sir?"

"You said artificially made…what do you mean by that?"

"Well, Cisco Ramon has the ability but he channels his 'vibes' to make the breaches with a device. This meta-human can do it without one."

Henshaw mulled over the information, "Is it possible to find someone with these types of powers on our Earth? We are a version of their Earth and their people after all."

The gears started turning in Winn's head, "Not entirely impossible," he nodded, "I think I can give it a shot with the right tools and data."

"Tell me what you need."

"I need to know who that is on the other side of the wormhole," he pointed to the screen.

"Why?"

"His chromosomal structures, his protein codes, hair follicles, anything to narrow down the search results. Therefore, we know what pool of people to search in order to find a possible match."

"Can't we find some remnant at the occurrence spot?"

"Any data at the scene is probably all too scattered by now."

"No need," Henshaw smiled, "I've just the thing."

"What?"

"Rather _who_ …"

"Barry Allen," Winn smiled excitedly, "Perfect! He fought with the guy, he jumped right through that wormhole! There has to be some remnant of it still attached to him! I'll get my tools!"

"I'm off to find Kara and Mon-El, see what we can do," he left Winn to his new experiment.

The meta-human gasped awake, eyes shooting open as Cisco's eyes fluttered open as well.

"Get me out of this thing!" the breacher struggled, panic and anger rising as he struggled to escape his restraints.

"Cisco!" Caitlin shot forward, "What happened?"

"You okay, mate?" Julian was at his side.

Cisco tried to sit up, a little woozy, then fell back down, "I-I think I'm okay…relatively."

"Did you get it, did you find him?" Iris prompted.

Cisco felt the ground shake underneath his feet, like he was teetering on a merry-go-round.

"Cisco?" Caitlin's voice sounded distant and distorted.

His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed. Julian was there to catch him, taken by surprise.

"Quick, help me get him upstairs!"

Iris ran to the meta-human, "What the hell happened?!"

"I-I don't know!" This time, he was being genuine, no tricks.

"Liar!"

"Really!" He felt his blood rushing and a feeling of claustrophobia strapped down to the chair like this. His vision started to blur, his own balance off, and his sight swimming with black dots. He saw Cisco's glasses slide off his nose and hit the floor.

"Oh no," Caitlin turned to Iris, "I think he's gonna-"

The meta felt his chair swaying backwards, his feet slowly ascending into the air as he went crashing to the floor.

"HR! Joe! Wally! Help!"

The meta-human heard these names being thrown around, the voices abnormally deep and far away. What did this Cisco do to him? He couldn't let it happen again. That other breacher probed his mind and tried extracting information...it was a brutal mental war. Now he was spent and his mind felt cooked.

He wouldn't be used like that again.

With the last remaining bit of consciousness, the meta-human reached out with his boot and crushed the Vibe glasses with a heavy foot.

"No!" Iris screamed.

But the meta rested his head on the floor, eyes closing, and exhausted satisfaction running through him at his accomplishment.

"Alex!" Winn came running in with Henshaw, Kara, and Mon-El behind him. He had a few papers in his hand.

"Winn, did you find something?"

"Oh, yes," he smiled wide, "I found _someone."_

"Who? The meta-human?" Mon-El asked, hopeful.

"Precisely," Winn nodded proudly, "I was reviewing the footage, and I realized that we needed to find Barry's breacher counterpart on our world. So, I snipped a piece of Barry's suit and analyzed it to find traces of another person's blood and some remnant energy from the wormhole. It was a gold mine!"

He handed Alex the charts and she sifted through them with utter concentration etched into her face. It was like she was studying the figures, engraining them in her mind.

Kara piped up, "What do you do with this data?"

"I isolated the specific aspects of the genome to narrow down my search results and found a hit."

"He got a name?" Henshaw asked.

"On Barry's Earth, it's Neal Colton."

"On ours?" Mon-El prompted.

"Calvin Cox. I ran it through facial recognition a half an hour ago and it matches the meta-human."

"Excellent," Henshaw nodded in approval, "now we find him."

"Find him for what? What's he gonna do?" Kara looked at Winn in question.

"Calvin Cox may be from a different Earth as Neal Colton, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the breacher ability like his Earth-1 counterpart."

"What if he doesn't?" Alex narrowed her eyes.

"Even if he hasn't developed them yet, his body matches the checklist for what he needs to replicate Neal Colton's powers. His body is the perfect incubation system."

"Genius!" Mon-El brightened, "Calvin Cox could open a breach!"

Winn smiled, "I hope so."

"Once again, Winn," Alex dipped her head in approval, "outstanding job."

"Where can we find Cox?" Kara looked at Winn eagerly, ready to get into action.

"It could take me an hour or two to locate him, make some calls-"

"Any chance you can speed that up?" Alex interjected meekly, "I don't mean to interrupt, but it just…doesn't look good."

"How is he doing?" a grim look passed over Kara's face as she stepped closer to Barry's side. Everyone went silent for a cruel moment.

"Heart rate gradually decreasing," she exhaled deeply, "I'm pumping him with as many meds as possible, tourniquet around his leg is the only thing keeping him alive at this point but we're risking major infection by keeping the knife in. I can't take it out, because it's the only thing from stopping major blood loss and the cavity would be too big to surgically heal without him dying first. Only his accelerated healing can save him now."

"Any chance the speed force in his cells are activating again?" Henshaw cleared his throat to provide some optimism in the gloomy air.

Alex pursed her lips and shook her head.

"I'll go run the scan," Winn nodded and hurried out, ready to go as quick as he could.

"Mon-El?" Alex looked at him, and he reciprocated the stare in shock, "Can I talk to you a moment, alone?"

"Uh, yes, yeah, sure, Alex." he wiped his palms on his jeans nervously. Kara had an inquisitive look on her face but she respected her sister's wishes and she and Henshaw stepped out. That left just Alex, Mon-El, and Barry in the room together.

"Anything I can do?" he offered.

"Actually, yes," her tone tightened, "look, I'm not your biggest fan at the moment, but I need your help. Kara would never go through with it."

"W-what is it?" he felt his wariness rise.

"I-I've got to wake Barry up."

"Wait, _what_? Did I just hear you say you need to _wake him up?"_

"Precisely," she hurried across the room, filling a syringe with a clear liquid, "this will pull him out of his sleep. It counteracts the medicine I gave earlier to keep him in a chemically induced coma."

"Chemically induced coma? What for?"

"His pain levels are gonna be off the charts, and I need someone to help me hold him down."

"B-but why me?!"

"I need Kara's super strength, but she'd never let me go through with this. Barry is a meta-human with advanced capabilities, I don't know what he can do so I need someone of your…caliber to help me keep him in check. Look, you're not my favorite option, but you're the only option, so get moving."

"No, no! I can't do this!"

"It'll save his life! If I can just ask him a few questions, then it can make a major impact on whether he lives or dies."  
Mon-El paced the room, dry washing his face, "I don't know, I don't know…"

"Yes, you do. You just don't want to admit it," she shrugged, "look, I'm easy and I don't judge. Just hold his body and shoulders down. If he moves much it'll disrupt the tourniquet and he'll be done for good."

"O-okay…like that?" he bent over Barry's still form, placing firm grips on his shoulders and pressed him against the bed.

"Yes, keep them there."

She slapped gloves on her wrist and flicked the needle of the syringe before giving Barry one last long look and plunging it into the crook of his elbow.

Nothing happened for a moment.

"So, how long until it kicks in or-"

They both jumped and yelled in shock as Barry bolted upright in the bed. Even Mon-El's alien strength was caught off guard as he lost his grip, but he quickly surged forward and pressed Barry back down on the bed.

Alex felt a cold rush run though her but she suppressed her emotions and started forward, trying to help Mon-El ease the speedster back down in the bed. She looked down worriedly at his tourniquet, noticing more blood beginning to ooze out of the wrap.

"Mon-El," she growled, "hold him."

"I'm trying!"

Barry's head hit the pillow hard and he scrunched his eyes, shouting in pain.

"Barry, Barry!" Alex tried to be the only thing he could see in his line of vision, it could calm him down, "Relax, Barry! It's me, Alex Danvers, Kara's sister!"  
"A-Alex?"

"Yes, yes, me and Mon-El, you remember us, don't you?"

"The meta…wormhole…! Gotta…warn Cisco!"

Mon-El kept Barry's shoulders pinned to the bed, but found it a little difficult on account of the struggling. He admired his determination though, Barry, even in his state, was still hell bent on catching some meta-human.

"Barry, you've got to listen to me!" Alex persisted, "I'll put you back under, just answer a few questions."

"Q-questions?" he panted, looking at her through wide eyes and pale face.

"Yes," she felt a little relieved noticing the heart rate stop beeping as erratically, but still fast.

"I-isn't it supposed to be fast?" Mon-El saw her glancing at the monitor, "his super speed and all?"

"Speed force cells are subdued, it's still irregular," she shook her head.

"W-what?" Barry strained, "W-what's wrong with me?"

Mon-El made the mistake of looking down at Barry's leg.

Almost immediately, the speedster lifted his upper body and got a full view of his bleeding limb. He saw the drenched rags wrapped around it and the entrance wound from the bullet.

"Oh, God," Barry paled even more, if that was even possible, and he fell back down, gasping.

"Barry, Barry, stay with me," Alex grabbed his hand, "what happened yesterday night with the meta-human."

"My leg!" he panted, "It's not healing!"

Mon-El glanced at her, sweat building upon his brown, "Alex, maybe it's time we put him under-"

"No!" she rebuked sharply.

He quickly silenced, but every bone in his body was telling him to stop this torture. He needed a way to reach Kara. There was an intercom button across the room.

"Alex," he looked at her, "I'm going to go get more rags, just hold his shoulders down."

He lifted his hands before she could answer and whether she liked it or not, she placed a firm grip on his shoulders.

He raced across the room, slammed the intercom button and grabbed a wad of gauze in his hands.

Winn was scanning through footage relentlessly, when he saw the intercom button on the desk controls light up. He clicked in the headset and curiously listened in. It took about four seconds for his mouth to drop.

"Oh no," he immediately reached for his phone and dialed Kara's number.

"Winn?"

"Kara!"

"What's wrong?"

"Get back to the DEO, now."

"What's going on?"

"It's Barry," his voice hitched, "he's awake."

 **Chapter 5 coming soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter, enjoy! Leave me some love with a review/fav/follow!**

"Barry, what happened that night?" Alex soothingly tried to hold his shoulder to keep him calm.

"R-robberies," his breathing was labored and his gloved hands clenched the sheets, "breacher."

"What's that? Some sort of code for something?" Mon-El looked at Alex.

"No," she shook her head, "meta-human with breacher abilities. That's extremely rare, I've never heard of someone with that natural capability before. What happened next, Barry?"

"Wormhole," he shuddered, shaking in the bed under Mon-El's grip, "Speed f-force."

"The wormhole could've messed with his powers," Alex exhaled roughly, "technically the speed force is just another dimension, so this breacher could've manipulate it like any other dimension."

Barry nodded weakly, trying to signal that Alex was correct.

"Okay, okay, Barry, shh," she rubbed his shoulder, "we're going to take care of you, you're safe, all right? Just relax."

She saw some tension release from his shoulders, but there was still stress and pain lines etched into his face. Alex administered a few more cc's of morphine in case.

"Anything else?" Mon-El urged.

Barry gave him a tired look, his eyes clouded and lips the same color of his pale skin, "Cisco…breacher too."

"Cisco Ramon?" Mon-El looked at Alex. He hadn't been around as long as everyone else, so this was all a little bit of a shock to him, "He's a meta-human too?"

Alex nodded, "Barry-"

 _"_ _Alex, what are you doing?!"_

They all turned their heads to the door to see a fuming Kara followed by Winn and Henshaw.

"Kara," Mon-El looked at her, relieved, "Thank, God."

"Alex," Henshaw looked at her, a degree of shock in his eyes.

She couldn't handle the look of shock and fear some of them directed at her and guilt swelled in her chest. But she reminded herself of Barry's plight and how this was a key way to save him.

She exhaled deeply, her heart tearing in her chest as Barry's wide, scared eyes looked at her in desperation, "Barry, last question-"

"Alex, stop!" Kara took a step forward.

"Barry, how can we reactivate the speed force in your cells?"

"Stop it, Alex, enough!"

"We need to know!" she retorted.

"Y-you-" his eyes fluttered.

 _Oh no, he's out._

"You've got to…" Barry's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped limply against the bed.

"Barry!" Kara surged forward at his side, pushing Mon-El out of the way.

"Quick, charge the paddles!"

"The glasses!" Iris shrieked, looking at their only hope of finding Barry get crushed under the boot of the meta-human, "NO!"

Julian was dragging Cisco to the floor, out of the chair, and Caitlin hesitantly approached the now unconscious meta-human.

"Cisco?" Julian gently patted his cheek, "Can you hear me, mate?"

No response.

"Caitlin?" Julian looked at her, "What happened?"

"I've got to get them in the lab," she confirmed, getting to her feet, "we need two gurneys down here."

"What are we going to do?!" Iris gestured to the broken pieces of their only hope scattered on the floor.

HR, Joe, and Wally came sprinting back down.

Joe looked at the scene before him, "What the hell happened down here?"

"Oh no, the glasses!" Wally ran and knelt down by the remains of the Vibe glasses.

HR helped Julian by grabbing Cisco's feet while Julian gripped his underarms. They gently maneuvered his body on the emergency gurney and Caitlin jogged over, testing his reactiveness and responses.

"What does this mean?" Joe looked between Iris, Wally, and the glasses.

"I don't know," Julian sighed, placing his hands on his side, "usually Cisco is the one with the answers."

"Quick, we need to get them upstairs," Caitlin pursed her lips.

"Just hold on a minute," Joe stopped them, "why is no one reacting? The glasses are _broken_."

"They don't know how to fix them, Dad," Wally ducked his head, "only Cisco does…"

"Well, wake him up then," he realized the insensitivity once the words left his mouth. He didn't mean them and Cisco's health was his top concern, but he just wanted Barry to be all right, "I-I'm sorry, that was harsh."

"I'm gonna try to see what happened to them, see if they're in a coma or this is just temporary. With a few tests we can find out and then we can plan the best course of action," Caitlin looked at Joe with sympathy in her eyes, understanding his frustration.

"Meanwhile," Julian started forward, "I'll salvage these pieces," he gestured to the broken glasses, "see what I can piece back together."

HR and Joe moved forward, helping Caitlin push the two gurneys to her lab to examine them. Julian, very gently, placed the pieces of the Vibe glasses in an evidence bag and walked out with the remains. That just left Wally and Iris.

Once everyone cleared out, Iris sat down heavily in the chair, her face in her hands and tears starting to stream through her fingers.

"Iris," Wally sat down by her, "it'll be okay, everything will work out."

"Wally, Barry could be virtually anywhere and dead for all we know…"

"This is Barry we're talking about, Iris," Wally shook her shoulder comfortingly, "he defeated the Reverse Flash, Zoom, Captain Cold, Heatwave, and countless other meta-humans. If anyone can find a way out of this, it's Barry."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Iris rested her head against her brother's shoulder, a semblance of hope fluttering within her. She didn't see the look of dread and fear that passed across his face when she wasn't looking.

"Any luck on Cox?" Henshaw looked at Winn.

"Scanner should be ready in a few more minutes.."

Their talk was drowned out by the bickering from the next room.

"Alex, how could you? Barry is my friend, and you tortured him!"

"Kara, I didn't mean to hurt him, but it was necessary to help the situation."

"He might not wake up!"

"I had to do something. I know his condition is bad-"

"Like you _care_ about his condition!"

"Actually, I do!" Alex stood up, "Kara, the clock is ticking! Barry is on every medicine and maxed out! If I don't find a way to get him back to Star Labs then-"

"How long?" Kara calmed.

"Let's just say he won't make it through the night."

"Winn!" Kara shouted, knowing him and Henshaw were eavesdropping, "Cox's location?"

"Match just popped up!" he yelled back, "Uh…he's working at a law firm on National Dr."

Kara marched out of the room, ready to fly into action and track down Cox.

"Kara, wait!"

"What?" she looked back at her sister in irritation.

"Just-" she exhaled sadly, "find him fast."

She nodded curtly before shooting out of the DEO facility and up into the open skies. Her mind was hellbent on finding Cox and she zipped down to his location in no time. Her Supergirl outfit gleamed in the sunlight and she landed confidently on the balcony of the building, outside office 207.

A man was typing away on his laptop inside. Kara gently tapped against the glass, getting the man's attention. The minute he saw Kara, he almost fell out of his chair before scrambling over to the door and gawking at her in awe.

She motioned for him to step outside and he fumbled with the handle before facing her on the balcony.

"Y-y-you're-"

"Cox?"

"Yes," he gulped nervously. She glanced at the nameplate on the desk to confirm.

"I need your help."

" _M-my_ help?"

"Yep," she nodded, "you're gonna have to come with me."

Before he could respond, Supergirl swooped down and grabbed his torso, hoisting him to the sky with her as she flew off back in the direction of the DEO, Cox screaming the whole way.

She deposited him carefully to the floor in the main cortex of the facility.

"Supergirl!" Henshaw protested, "This is a confidential government facility, you can't just bring strangers in here without proper authorization!"

"I know," she ducked her head, "but I couldn't wait. Besides, his eyes were closed the whole ride."

Cox, eyes still screwed tight, nodded feebly.

"This is Cox?" Alex looked at the frightened man sprawled on the floor, looking up at these unfamiliar faces in shock.

Kara nodded. Winn looked from the monitor from the man and flashed a thumbs up.

"Look," Cox stuttered, "I-I don't know what's going on here, but I have my rights-"

"Please, Mr. Cox," Henshaw held up an irritated hand, "you're not in any trouble."

"Yes, I know," he stood up, wiping down his suit jacket, "she told me that. Then, I got a ride _over_ National City. How do you think that went?"

"I'm sorry," Kara's shoulders sagged, "I didn't mean to harm you in any way, but our friend needs your help."

"You keep saying that, but unless he needs a good lawyer, then I'm of no use to you. Good day," he sniffed, marching to the door.

Alex had trouble believing that evil meta-human and this guy were in a way connected.

"Sir," Alex called after him, "if you could, just please follow me."

"Why? You can't hold me here."

"You don't even know how to get out of this place," she countered, "If you'd just follow me for five minutes, I'll arrange for a ride back to your offices and work it out with your boss regarding your absence."

He seemed to mull over the proposition, noticing the advantage he held, "I want a full-paid roundtrip plane ticket and a week vacation too."

"Fine," she gritted her teeth, "now, follow."

He saw the stern look that Henshaw was throwing his way and he begrudgingly followed Alex into the elevator. Kara, Winn, and Henshaw stepped inside with them. The elevator traveled down a floor and they all shuffled out.

Cox looked right and left at the many faces and bodies surrounding him. He didn't want to be here at all.

 _Think of the vacation, think of the vacation…_

The dark-haired woman opened up a glass door, and stood grimly in the doorway. Cox turned around and saw the avoiding glances from the others, refusing to look into the room.

"W-what's in there?" he stammered, noticing their tense body language.

No one answered, but Alex nodded with her head, a gesture that he come inside. He took painful steps forward, eyes closed as he finally stepped over the threshold.

When he opened them, he faltered a few steps back.

"O-oh, God…" Cox trailed off. There was a bed in the center of the room surrounded by a horde of monitors and IV stands. In the bed was a young man with dark hair and pale skin. He would look very healthy and handsome if it weren't for his ashen grey flesh, the sweat matting his skin against his head, a tattered and bloody bright red suit, and a gruesome leg injury.

He tried to double back out of the room, but Henshaw's broad body blocked the exit.

"What do you want with me?" panic started to creep into his voice,"Why do you need my help? L-look, you've got the wrong guy, I'm not a doctor-"

"No, you're not," Alex interrupted, "but you are special."

Okay, these people we're really crazy.

"Special how?"

"Special abilities."

"Abilities?" he scoffed, "You're out of your goddamn mind!"

"Are my abilities so hard to believe?" Kara interrupted, "Why can't you have some?"  
"B-but you're Supergirl!" he looked her up and down, "You're an alien from another planet, and I'm just a guy from Brooklyn!"

"We're wasting time…" Mon-El tapped his foot against the floor.

"Look, this is gonna sound crazy," Winn stepped forward, "that's the Flash, and he was sent here from another Earth that vibrates at another frequency so we can't see them, but your doppelganger is an evil meta-human with breacher abilities that sent him to our Earth but somehow manipulated the speed force in his cells so now he can't heal rapidly as usual and if we don't connect with Star Labs from his Earth soon, then he's dead, you got it?"

The group was silent for a moment.

Then Cox made a mad dash for the door.

"Look!" Winn grabbed his tablet as Kara and Mon-El stopped Cox and pulled him back. He thrust the image of the breacher meta-human in front of Cox's eyes and they widened immediately.

"W-what? No, that's impossible-he-he's me, but I-"

"Yes, we know that isn't you," Henshaw confirmed, "but we want to know if he's similar to you."

"You mean if I can 'breach' like him?" he whimpered, looking at the malicious glare on that man again.

Alex nodded darkly.

"There's no way, I think I'd know if I had abilities or something-"

"Look at him!" Alex shouted, pointing at Barry below her, "Look! He will die because you were unwilling to try!"

"Alex-" Kara tried to soothe.

"I-I'm not unwilling, it's just-"

"You can't just give up, you did this to him!"

Cox immediately got defensive and angered by her comment, "That monster is not me."

"He's right," Mon-El sighed, "Alex, this was a long shot anyway, not all of the dopplegangers are exactly the same as those on different Earths."

"But it's our best option," Alex countered, "without him, it's over!"

She stormed out of the room, giving one last forlorn look at Barry as she left.

Henshaw went after her and Cox shuffled his feet nervously.

"So…there's no possible way?" Kara looked at him with deflated hope.

"I'm sorry," his shoulders sagged.

"It's okay," Winn shrugged with a sad smile, "thanks for trying. I'll call your boss later this afternoon."

Mon-El, Kara, and Winn slowly shuffled out, leaving Cox alone with the young man unconscious in the bed. He felt a part of him nag that essentially _he_ did this to him, and he was therefore obligated to at least look at the boy. Cox moved forward, standing right at the bedside and looked down at the pale, dying "Flash."

"How could I…?" he trailed off. There was no way he could. It wasn't him.

He looked down at his hands.

 _Just try it, it won't do you no harm._

He closed his eyes, reached deep down within him, thought of the injured man in the bed, the desperation in his friends' eyes, and felt a spark between his fingers. Cox opened his eyes in shock.

"What the-?"

 _That's it! It's working!_

"Do it again, come on, you can do it," he tried to press his fingers against one another again. This time nothing.

"Keep going." he heard a new voice behind him and Cox whirled around in surprise.

It was Henshaw.

"Oh, uh, I was just-"

"Nobody is judging you here."

"Well-"

He stopped abruptly when he saw the normal, human looking General morph into an exotic, multi-colored alien.

"What the-?!"

"Calm down," Henshaw raised a hand, "there are no secrets here. This is a place where we encourage your powers, for you to grow. Your body is the perfect environment for your abilities to manifest, you have majority of the genome requirements as the other breacher."

"I don't have powers-"

"Enough, stop denying it. You look at that boy in the bed and you tell me one more time that you don't have capabilities."

"I…" Cox trailed off, sighing deeply once he saw him again.

"That's what I thought. Continue."

Cox looked at him nervously, then turned back to his hands, scanning them intently. How could he open up dimensions just by willing it? That was physically impossible, it denied every law of the Earth, right? It had to!

But not everything was impossible, apparently. Not 20 minutes ago, he was flying over the city in Supergirl's arms. Who knew his day would take such a turn?

Cox took a deep breath and clasped his hands. The temperature of the room dropped, a slight gust passed him, and he opened his eyes to see a small, blue breach in front of him.

Cox's eyes widened, and he almost passed out, "Holy sh-"

"Incredible," Henshaw cut off, nearing him, amazed.

Cox let his hands go and immediately the wormhole disappeared.

"Do it again," Henshaw gave him a stern look.

There was no use in arguing after seeing that stern look.

He took another deep breath, willed for a larger breach and his power commanded. A sizable wormhole opened, about the size of a watermelon. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and he panted as he couldn't keep it up anymore.

"I-I'm sorry, it can't go anymore."

"No, that's fine," Henshaw smiled, "we've got our breacher now."

 **Chapter 6 coming soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**All right, next chapter! Love your guys' suggestions and comments! Leave me some more love with a fav/review/follow!**

"Okay," Winn went through the instructions one more time, "just open the breach and I'll send it through," he held a small video recording device in his hands.

"I'm not too good at this," Cox looked at him nervously.

"I saw you do it in the med bay," Henshaw encouraged, "you can do it."

"All right," he stammered, then closed his eyes.

Nothing happened for a moment.

"That's it?" Mon-El looked at him.

"No, no, it's just everyone is watching-"

"Forget about it," Kara stepped forward, "I got all the awkward stares and glares when I first started displaying my powers. You can do it, just rise above it. No one here is judging you, we all accept your abilities."

He nodded with a little more confidence and spread his hands apart. The breach opened, a small one, but enough. Winn quickly chucked the little recording device through right before it closed.

"Guys," Julian looked at the beeping monitors in the cortex, "look here, there's a breach."

"Breach? Really?" Iris came running forward to his side.

"I'm on it," Wally sped out of the room.

"Let us know what you see," Julian spoke through his intercom, "anything at all, another meta-human or-"

"It's a recording device."

"What?" Joe knitted his eyebrows.

"J-just bring it back, Wally," Julian instructed, "we'll take a look at it together."

Wally came speeding back into Star Labs, looking down at the device in his hands in confusion. Iris took it from his hands and turned it round and round.

"There's a button and a blinking light," she said excitedly, "like a voicemail machine. It's a message."

"Or a bomb," Joe cautioned, "we've got to test the thing first."

"No," she countered, "we don't have time."

"She's right," Harry chipped in, "B.A. is losing time as we speak."

"Exactly."

"Fine," he conceded, "but it needs to be in a controlled environment, something safe."

"Pipeline?" Wally offered.

"Perfect," Julian nodded, "that's place is nearly impenetrable, only a particle accelerator explosion could tear it apart."

They gathered into the pipeline, only HR controlling a robotic arm to slowly test the machine. He slowly approached it with the arm and clicked the button.

A moment of tense anticipation passed.

Then a voice started to speak over the recording.

"Hello? Star Labs? Cisco? This is Winn Schott from the DEO…or Supergirl's Earth. Look, this is going to sound crazy, but Barry is here on our Earth."

At the sound of that, Iris gasped. Joe faltered and held onto the wall as HR, Wally, and Julian listened intently with slight relief on their faces.

"He's not doing too great," Winn's voice continued grimly, "we found him, but trust me nobody knows his identity. However, his powers seem to be…off."

"Off?" Joe looked at the team frantically, "What does he mean _off_?"

"The speed force cells are subdued, therefore he can't heal…and it doesn't look good. He's got serious injuries and we're doing all we can to help him. He's definitely got a clock, so we need to find a way to get him back to your Earth so we can help him, but we don't know how. I know Cisco Ramon is a breacher, if he can open a breach now that Barry's location is known, it'll save him. Long story of how we opened the breach to get this here, but I don't think we can open another one. We're tracking the movement in the city so if a breach opens, we'll be able to locate it and send Barry back home. Thank you."

The message ended.

Iris walked out of the room, sobbing silently to herself in relief and worry.

"Caitlin is still with Cisco," Julian shook his head, "they haven't woken up."

"There are medicines that can do that," Joe suggested, "Is it safe to administer?"

"I don't think they exactly cover meta-human anatomy in medical school, Dad," Wally sighed, "We don't even know what happened to him."

"I guess we could try it…" Harry shrugged.

"Let's go talk to Caitlin," Julian concluded, all of them walking out, but Joe following his daughter to comfort her.

"Do you think they got it?" Kara paced, looking at Winn hopefully.

"No way to tell," he shrugged, "we'll just have to wait and see."

"Hopefully it did," Henshaw huffed, "it's our last hope."

Cox wrung his hands together nervously.

"We've got to do it," Joe pushed, "it's our only chance."

"I don't know how it'll affect him," Caitlin doubted, looking down at the unconscious Cisco in the bed, "I can't be sure."

"Caitlin, what are possible side effects of the drug if we wake him up?" Julian asked.

"It differs with every person, nothing too serious, but his mind is fragile."

"Can we try it on the meta-human first?" HR quipped.

"No," Caitlin gave him a stern look, "that's unethical."

"No one would have to know," he grumbled.

"Look, we've got to take the shot. Cisco would agree to save Barry if he was awake," Joe acted too rationally.

"You're not thinking about his well-being," Julian contradicted, "Cisco could be affected _permanently."_

"Who's his medical proxy?" Joe asked.

"Dante, his brother."

"But he's…"

"Yeah."

"Okay," Joe fished for ideas, "what then? You heard Winn, they can't open another breach and Cisco is the only one on this Earth who has the capability and is willing. Fat chance you get the meta to do it."

"Someone has to be fast enough to make another breach, right?" Wally suggested, "Barry did it and ended up on their Earth?"

"Barry only did it with the Tacheon device and he couldn't control his destination. You could end up on any Earth and we can't get to you."

"What about gypsy on Earth-19?" HR asked, "I"m not her biggest fan, but it's a shot."

"There's no way to contact her either…"

"We're out of time!" Joe erupted, "Please, Caitlin, we need to do something!"

"Okay…" Caitlin took a long sigh, "I'll need to test it first. Administer small amounts, see how his body reacts."

"Good idea," Julian nodded, "I'll help."

After they tried it a few times with minuscule doses, Caitlin finally deemed it safe for them to wake up Cisco.

"I don't know how he'll be when he wakes up," she warned, "but someone be ready to hold him down or catch him if necessary."

H.R. and Julian were poised for action at her words, watching intently as Dr. Snow slowly injected the medicine into Cisco's IV.

A few moments passed, all of them watching in silence as Cisco slowly scrunched his eyes and his eyelids fluttered open.

"W-woah…" he croaked, bringing a fumbling hand up to his eyes and rubbing them, "What the-?

"Cisco, it's Caitlin," she started, a hand on his shoulder, "how are you feeling?"

"A little d-dizzy," he took a moment, his words slightly slurred.

"Yes," she smiled lightly, "these are common symptoms, that means you're gonna be fine."

Iris breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her dad while Julian and H.R. high fived.

"W-what's going on?" the young engineer looked at the Flash team around him, "last thing I remember I was in the breacher's head and then…" his eyes lit up, "Wait! Caitlin, I know where Barry is!"

He reacted too fast, sitting up too quickly and a fresh bout of dizziness seized him.

"Easy now," Caitlin eased him back down, "luckily, we do too."

"Supergirl's Earth," Cisco confirmed, "but how did you-?"

"We got a message from Winn," Iris answered, "via breach."

"They opened a breach? How?"

"We don't know yet," Joe's shoulders sagged, "but Barry is there and fading fast."

"So I need to get him," Cisco nodded, "right. I need a water, a Big Belly Burger, and an episode of Star Trek and I'm ready to go."

"A little rest before-" Caitlin persisted.

"No," Cisco shook his head, "I appreciate it, Cait, but Barry needs the attention. I'll be fine, I'm feeling better already, " he lied. Truth was he still felt like his brain had been microwaved, then deep-fried, then frozen.

 _This headache is gonna last me till next year._

"Okay," she conceded hesitantly, "but, we need to do this quick so you don't get too exhausted or drained."

"Simple," he nodded, trying to put up a smile. Usually, one little breach was nothing compared to what he could do, but right now a small breach seemed like a four mile sprint.

"Let's head down to your lab," Julian stepped forward, "I'll get the equipment."

Julian, H.R., Wally, and Joe headed down to clear the space and be ready to get the breach opened. Caitlin did a few more cognitive tests, still not fully appeased that Cisco was ready to do this. Heck, he wasn't even himself, but this was Barry they were talking about. That guy would sprint to the end of the Earth even without his powers for anyone of them, and he was prepared to do the same.

Even though Caitlin let him do their mission, she was adamant upon him being in a wheelchair. He conceded to her demands because she let him do his job, but it made him feel ridiculous. Iris had a small, sympathetic smile as she walked with them, and her eyes held a little hope to find Barry.

"Thank you," she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I thought I lost him."

"Don't worry," he looked back at her, "I'm going to bring him back."

She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"In here!" Julian called, "We're all set up!"

"Great," Cisco examined the equipment briefly, but couldn't really register any of it. The letters and shapes all jumbled in his head, but he finally poured enough concentration to focus on the job at hand. It exhausted him once he cleared it, and he was ready to sleep for the rest of the day.

 _Think of Barry, think of Barry…_

"All right, Cisco," Joe nodded to him in support, "ready when you are."

"You got this," Wally encouraged, a crooked smile on his face.

Cisco nodded, closing his eyes. He went through his usual routine, prepared to delve into the universes and find Barry through the infinite dimensions and breaches he could open. He pictured Supergirl's world and the people there like Winn, Henshaw, and Kara.

A flash of white-hot pain erupted in his skull and he cringed.

"Vitals just spiked," Caitlin reported, "Cisco, are you okay?"

Her voice sounded different to him, but he gulped and nodded, "Yeah…yeah, I'm okay."

"Come on, Cisco, hang in there," H.R. paced, real worry etched into the lines on his forehead.

He tried again, but it was like he was trying to pry off the lid of a boiling teapot with bare hands. He pulled away at the last second, feeling the heat and pain as it scalded him. Cisco gritted his teeth and forced his way through the vibe, hissing in pain as he clenched his fists to stop him from crying out.

"O-okay, I think I've located it," Cisco puffed between heavy breaths, "I'm envisioning it."

"So what?" Julian pressed, "Does he just create a breach?"

"We need to hurry," Caitlin warned, "He can't keep this up for long."

"Guys! Guys, wait!" Winn came bounding into the room, excitement in his eyes, "We've got a hit! We've got the makings of a breach! I'm seeing the signs!"

"What?" Kara perked up, her body filling with newfound hope, "You're kidding."

"No!" he laughed triumphantly, "I think they got our message!"

"Great job!" Mon-El smiled wide and clapped Cox on the shoulder who reddened under the attention.

"Where is it?" Alex could hardly keep the relief from her voice.

"It's on the outskirts of town," Winn looked down at his tablet and rattled off coordinates.

"But how do we get him there?" Henshaw nodded at Barry's still form in the bed.

"Let's put him in the van," Alex suggested.

"But that won't get him there on time, will it? If I fly him there, it's faster," Kara argued.

"Yes, but you could injure him further," Henshaw shook his head, "that means we need to go now. Winn, what's the time frame?"

"Um.." he looked down at the tablet again, "for some reason the breach is slow forming, so I give it about a 6 minute frame before it's fully developed."

"We won't make it," Mon-El shook his head, biting his nails in worry.

"I need to fly him," Kara pressed, "it's his only shot."

"Or we can fly him a different way," Alex made eye contact with Henshaw, "chopper?"

Henshaw's lips broke into a smile, "Perfect."

"W-wait," Winn questioned, "like a helicopter?"

"I'll get the keys," Alex raced to her office.

"Do you think he's all right?" Julian whispered to Caitlin as the team watched Cisco slowly and steadily trying to form a proper breach.

"I know it's hurting him," Caitlin responded in a hushed tone, "but he's pushing himself for Barry."

"What's the worse that can happen?" he felt his heart skip. He actually didn't want to know the answer.

"Death, or worse…"

The fact that there was a "worse" after death didn't sound good to him.

"Cisco?" he called, "Anything you need, mate?"

"No, no. I-I'm okay."

That wasn't too reassuring.

"How's it going on the other side?" Julian walked to the control panels where HR was sitting diligently behind it.

"Cisco taught me a thing or two about this," HR scanned the monitors, "it's slow-forming, so should take a little over five minutes to completely form on the other side. That is, if he can take it…"

Julian glared at him, HR's bedside manners obviously needing a little work.

"Listen," Joe came up to them with Wally behind him, "what's the plan once the breach is open?"

"I'll run in," Wally suggested, "it shouldn't take me too long to find him if I can locate their facility."

"Maybe they know where you'll be?" Julian shrugged hopefully, "They could be on the lookout for breaches."

"Yes," Joe nodded, "but we can't put Cisco through anymore of this," he glanced at the engineer who had Caitlin hovering by him.

"What are you saying?" Wally looked at him.

"He means," HR rephrased, "that Cisco is putting all his energy and might to _open_ the breach, but can he keep it open is the real question."

Julian looked at Cisco and he felt a weight fall on his shoulders-guilt. He couldn't bear to see his friend go through anymore of this, and to put up a facade that he was all right. He obviously wasn't: his white knuckles gripped the chair so hard that he was cracking the fabric. But he thought about Winn's message from the parallel Earth, that Barry didn't have much time left, that this was their only chance and he had to make a hard decision.

"He's going to need all the help we can give him," Julian sighed, "we have got to bring Barry home or we lose him forever," he glanced at Joe who looked at Iris pacing in the corner.

"Get ready, Wallace," HR clapped Wally on the shoulder, "you're up."

 **Chapter 7 coming soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here we go, last chapter! Enjoy ! Thank you to my loyal followers throughout the whole story, you guys rock. Leave me some love with a fav/review/follow!**

Moving Barry from the medical bay to the helipad was the most strenuous, stressful journey that Kara had ever been on-and she fought beings from different universes for a living.

She and Mon-El carefully cradled Barry from the bed to a rolling gurney, where the machines were going haywire. She took his legs because she didn't trust anyone risking anymore damage to his most essential commodity. When they laid him down, sweat was forming on her brow she was concentrating so hard.

"Get ready, Kara," Henshaw noticed her expression too, "that was the easy part."

She wished she could say she just gripped the gurney and flew him through the halls nice and easy, but that would be a narrative you pulled from a child's storybook. No, everything was complicated in the real world. The halls might've been wide enough for her to fly through, but certainly not her and a gurney with a 6 foot tall Barry lying in it.

So they had to wheel him to the elevator, her heart stopping every time the wheels jostled over a step and blood seeped through the napkins Alex was holding down on his leg. They successfully were able to get him into the elevator, all of them squeezing into the rather spacious car. However, they had to make one more change into another much smaller, much rockier elevator. Great.

"How's he doing?" Winn asked.

Alex looked at him. She didn't even have to answer.

That was grim.

No one really wanted to talk after that.

So, the journey was in silence as they slowly trekked upwards, the numbers ticking by as they passed the floors. The doors dinged open and all of them spilled out to let the gurney past as Mon-El and her still gripped both ends and rolled Barry through. Not all of them could fit this time. Henshaw would pilot the helicopter, Alex was there to look after Barry in the final leg of the trip, and she was there to be sure everything ran smoothly. It would, it had to.

Mon-El, Cox, and Winn stayed behind, but Winn ran down to the control desk and communicated via ear piece and coms in the helicopter.

"Okay, Winn," Henshaw started up the engines, clicking buttons left and right. Kara had helped Alex get Barry situated into the chopper, "Where am I going?"

"It'll be where he first arrived, I think," they waited for him to confirm, "yes, fortunately, the breach will open where Barry first landed."

"Got it."

The blades of the chopper started to whir faster and faster, she lost track of each individual one. The bars lifted off the ground, the chopper taking flight and starting to gain speed as it started to make its way downtown.

"Winn, how long till the breach is open?" Alex asked, impatience tinging her tone. Barry groaned in the gurney beneath her, his head tossed to the side as the medication slowly started to wear off.

"Less than two minutes until the breach is open," he responded.

They all wondered why the breach was slow-forming, but they would never get there in two minutes, obviously. She was just hoping once the breach opened it would stay open and maybe someone would come out from the other side. There was still the possibility that the breach opening wasn't one from STAR Labs, but they didn't have time to fool around.

"Henshaw?" Alex looked to him.

"I'm trying," he didn't look back, but shouted into the headset.

"We're not going to make it," Kara looked down at Barry once more, running a hand through his hair, "He'll be gone by then..."

"We'll get there," Alex nodded, sounding she was trying to convince herself as much as her alien sister.

"Here we go!" HR shouted, "Places, people! Breach is opening!"

Wally jogged next to Cisco, stretching a little as he prepared to burst into the breach. Joe and Julian stood a little to the back, both had guns and weapons nearby in case of something foreign and sinister bursting through the breach. Iris was Caitlin's assistant, holding bandages and setting up a little cot for Cisco when he finished. Cisco, on the other hand, had his face screwed up in a mask of pure concentration, sweat making his shirt damp as his body swayed a little back and forth. HR was looking at the monitors, observing virtually as the tear between realities started to occur.

"Now!" he shouted and at that moment, Cisco shouted in effort as he broke the barrier between the two worlds and the blue wormhole grew bigger,

"Go, go, go!" HR yelled at Wally who nodded, tossed a look at his dad, and sprinted through the breach.

"Cisco, come on! You can do this!" Iris encouraged, "Wally will be back in no time with Barry!"

Caitlin shook her head, knowing Cisco couldn't hold out any longer. What she was going to do next was rash, but it had to be done. She rounded the corner out of the room and headed towards the Pipeline. Sure enough, the breacher was still there, sitting in his cell and back against the wall. He looked surprised to see Caitlin there, not entirely knowing who she was. She could say the same. They never had a chance to run the identification measures properly with Cisco and Barry's situation their main concern.

"Finally! What is this place?" the breacher immediately rose, "Get me out!"

"It's a prison," she raised an eyebrow.

"No prison can hold me!" he shouted back defiantly.

"Your breaches don't work in here, it's designed specifically for meta-humans."

"Get me out! Now!"

"Only if," she paused, watching him flinch, but listen as well, "you help me."

He paused for a moment that laughed, "What? Help _you_? You must really be desperate!"

"I am," she growled, "and you will help me or I swear I'll make sure you rot in here for the rest of your life."

"Nice try, sweetheart," the breacher sneered, "but no deal."

Caitlin felt herself twitch with anger and immediately the air dropped a few degrees. Sure, the necklace that Julian and Cisco made could keep her powers under control, but sometimes when she was overcome with emotion…

Her eyes glowed a frosty blue, and she slammed her palm down on the glass, ice already starting to spread across the surface.

"W-what? What are you doing?!" the breacher frantically looked back and forth and soon he wasn't visible through the sheen of ice that had settled and steamed off the glass.

"Now, listen!" Caitlin shouted, loud enough so he could hear. She heard banging on the other side, "I can increase this layer ten-fold and you'll be a breacher popsicle and freeze to death," she threatened, "or, you can knock three times on the glass and I'll know you're willing to cooperate."

There was a brief pause.

Then three, solid knocks pounded behind the ice.

She nodded, feeling guilt already starting to form in her chest as her emotions started to thaw along with the ice. Caitlin didn't feel that intense and burning anger anymore that prompted her reaction, but she had to do everything she could to get Barry back.

When the glass was completely thawed, the meta-human was in the corner, rubbing his shoulders as his breath came out like an icy mist. He shivered as he looked at her, fear in his eyes. She didn't like that look, but at least he was willing to help.

"If I open this door, you won't run away?" she raised an eyebrow, swirling her fingers in the air as a warning to what could happen with her cold touch.

He nodded shakily and Caitlin pressed the "release" button.

"What in God's name is he doing in here?!" Julian shouted as Caitlin walked in, the meta-human at her side. She had a firm grip on his forearm, his two wrists shackled together in handcuffs, but he looked at her in fear and at her fingertips on his arm in caution.

"We need help," Caitlin explained shortly, "Cisco is worn out!"

It was true, he was barely on his feet now. Cisco sunk to his knees, his chest heaving up and down as he took exhausted breaths.

"He'll help?" Joe didn't question Caitlin, seeing how the meta-human looked at her. His mind was solely on Barry's well-being.

"Yes," she said tersely, looking at him.

The breacher nodded once, smoldering.

"Good," HR nodded, "someone get Ramon out of there, he's spent."

Joe and Julian went over, helping Cisco up.

"Look," HR told them, "the breach is going to close for a moment," he turned to the meta, "that's where you come in."

"You want me to open the breach where you're little speedster ran off to," he guessed, but he clenched his jaw in anger.

"Precisely," HR continued, "and you'll do it, cause you don't wanna piss her off."

Caitlin gave the breacher a hard glare.

"What's in it for me?" he bargained, "I'm not going back into that cell."

"If you get Barry back, then there's a nice little life waiting to be ruined by you on Earth-19, okay?"

"Earth-19?" the breacher looked at him, "and you guys won't come after me?"

"Promise," Julian nodded, "just hurry!"

The meta-human waited for a moment then agreed. Caitlin steered him over to the chair and sat him down.

"Open it."

He shuffled for a moment, then closed his eyes. Immediately a breach opened again. He had time to recuperate, unlike Cisco, and therefore could open the breaches much easier.

"Yes!" HR shouted triumphantly, "Channel is open!"

HR hoped Wally would come sprinting back through that breach, B.A. with him and all would be well.

"There!" Kara yelled, "Henshaw, down there!" she pointed down at a little alleyway between buildings. The aerial view was a godsend, because everything was so clear to see. She saw a zigzag of yellow light streak through town and knew that was a speedster. It was Wally West.

Henshaw nodded, indicating he understood and veered the chopper, preparing to descend.

Kara ripped the headset off her, opened the door, and stood at the ledge. She gave Alex a nod, looked down at Barry with a broken heart. His head was now in Alex's lap, who held him protectively. She cared for him this whole time and she'd be damned if anything went wrong now. Kara smiled enouragingly and stepped over. Her fists were in front of her as she plummeted like a missile down, following Wally's yellow lightning trail. She caught up to him, descending in front of him so he screeched to a stop when he recognized her.

"Kara?" He looked her up and down.

"Wally," she laughed in relief as she pulled him in for a hug, "you don't know how good it is to see you."

"I wish it was on better terms," his gaze darkened, "Barry?"

"The chopper," she pointed up as they heard the whirring of the blades and it sailed past, towards where Kid Flash first emerged.

Wally didn't hesitate. He broke into an 800 mph sprint and criss-crossed through the streets at a literal lightning speed. Kara was right on his tail.

They made it just as the chopper touched ground, but Alex didn't wait as she was already standing up ready to go as the bars were just a few feet off the ground. The rotating blades were loud, and the wind was strong, but Kara and Wally were right there with her.

Alex saw Wally West and she felt immediate relief burst through her chest. There was a chance they could pull this off!

But the pleasantries were skipped as Wally immediately saw the gurney in the dim light and a certain red-suited figure lying in it.

He faltered for a moment, not wanting to accept it. T-that couldn't be Barry, no, it couldn't...but he recognized that custom Flash suit and lightning emblem.

"Barry!" he surged forward and to Alex's side, "Oh my God!"

He looked down in horror at his friend's mutilated leg, the blood surrounding it enough to make him woozy.

"What happened to him?!"

"No time," Alex jolted him back to reality, "come on, we need to send you guys back!"

Henshaw came to the entrance and helped as all four of them carefully put Barry's gurney on the ground. It hit it rather hard and Barry groaned.

Wally winced at the sound of it.

Alex knew that this was it. Now or never. Barry and Wally would go crashing back into their world and who knew when the next time she would see Barry. He had grown on her, even if he was in his condition. The first time she met Barry, she was wary, but now she would trust him with her life. The way he had so much fight in him, the way he was prepared to warn his friends despite his injuries. She felt a tear spill down her cheek as she watched him go, as Wally and Kara wheeled him away. His ruffled brown hair and sharp features was something she would miss seeing, but she told herself that Barry would come visit when he was healthy, and she would see him again. She stood shoulder to shoulder with Henshaw, a profound exhaustion seeping into her limbs.

Henshaw nudged her, "You did good, Alex. You're a hero."

"Please," she reddened and smiled, "stop it."

"I'm serious. Not all heroes come with capes and superpowers you know. Your sister might be the Girl of Steel, but at least we know where she gets it from," he nodded at her in approval.

"I need to get back!" Wally looked at Supergirl, "Cisco can't keep the breach open for long!"

Kara nodded and she and Wally gripped both sides of the gurney and started to wheel it towards the breach. She looked at it in hope then down at Barry in worry.

"I'll come with you!" she noted the worry lines etched into his face, and Wally looked to her, relief in his eyes, "But I'll need to immediately go, before the breach closes!"

"Right!" he nodded, shouting over the wind, "On three?"

Kara dipped her head, her hands tightening on the gurney bars.

"One!"

She took a deep breath, trying to convince herself that this would work.

"Two!"

Supergirl glanced over her shoulder and saw Alex standing next to Henshaw, blood staining her uniform. Alex waved slightly, her eyes directed towards Barry.

"Three!"

She broke into a sprint and ran through the breach with Kid Flash.

"Incoming!" HR yelled as there was a bright light coming from the breach and they all shielded their eyes from it.

A huge wind blew through the lab and papers fluttered in the air wildly. The shape of three figures started to form in the blinding light. Two figures and a gurney spilled through. One figure, Wally, kept his pace as he ran through, but the other, a tall young woman, stood just at the mouth of the breach. She stood there, motionless.

Julian squinted his eyes and made out the beautiful, slender features of Supergirl. She made brief eye contact with him, and he nodded in thanks. She returned it and stepped back. Just like that, she was gone.

The light died. The wind stopped. Team Flash slowly rose to their feet. In the center of the room was Wally, panting, and Barry. Oh, Barry...

"Barry!" Iris surged forward, as she saw Wally, hands on his knees, panting next to a gurney with Barry Allen the Flash lying in it.

Caitlin and Joe were right after her as she immediately appeared at his bedside.

"Bar!" Joe was right next to Iris, looking at his son up and down, making sure that he was real, that he was here. He placed a hand on his shoulder, and it came away wet with blood. His eyes widened and he felt faint, "Caitlin..!"

"Oh...my," she held his pale cheek and looked up and down at his debilitated form. Caitlin's eyes widened as she saw the blood staining the uniform and sheets. Julian was pale and in mouth-open shock as he saw his friend's appearance.

"Barry..." he whispered in fear. Julian didn't like Barry at first, but now this sight was enough to give him nightmares.

"Quick!" Caitlin snapped back to reality. She ordered Joe to help as they gripped both sides of the gurney and wheeled him out. Iris and Wally trailed behind, and Cisco could only see red flashes, not sure if it was blood or the suit in his hazy vision.

Before all of them walked out, Julian and HR didn't forget the breacher who was possibly tempted to jump through with Caitlin gone. It was hard to shift their attention and the even the breacher looked with wide eyes at Barry being wheeled away.

"Don't even think about it," Julian had a gun pointed at him as the breacher gritted his teeth in anger.

"Get walking," HR ordered, by Julian's side as the meta got to his feet and shuffled out of the room, the breach closing as he and Julian walked out. Julian didn't give him an inch, as the barrel of the gun was pointed straight at him.

HR looked across the room and went to Cisco, draping his arm across his neck, "Here we go, buddy, let's get you fixed up."

Winn stooped back in his chair in relief, the tension dissipating from his limbs as Henshaw excitedly reported that Kara made it back with Wally and Barry successfully back home.

Mon-El cheered and hugged Cox tight, almost breaking his ribs.

Henshaw, Alex, and Kara returned soon after. Alex was dead tired, but mustered a triumphant smile as she received applause and praise from the team.

"I wonder if he's all right," Kara shrugged, "I saw him make it safely, but maybe his healing didn't kick in or-"

"Stop," Winn held up a hand, "This is Barry Allen we're talking about."

She laughed and agreed.

If anyone could make it through this all, it would be him.

However, a thorn of worry still pierced her heart.

Caitlin was in surgery for three hours. Joe, Wally, Iris, HR, and Cisco were impatiently waiting in the main cortex. Julian was in there to help her out after depositing the meta-human back into the Pipeline, promising to release him if Barry made it through the surgery all right. Cisco was in a wheelchair, a bag of saline hooked into the crook of his elbow through an IV drip, and Iris had a grateful hand placed on his shoulder.

The minutes continued to tick away until finally, the door opened and time seemed to stand still. The worry and anxiety gnawed at their hearts like an animal, but Caitlin took a deep breath and nodded.

"He's gonna be okay."

Iris, Joe, and Wally cheered, tangling themselves in a family hug as HR and Cisco laughed in victory and relief. Julian stood by Caitlin's side right after and hugged her, applauding her on a job well done.

"Can we see him?" Iris asked, tears of joy in her eyes.

"Yes, but he's still under," Julian answered, "it'll be a while yet before he wakes up."

"Let him," Joe smiled, "he deserves the rest."

"Congratulations !" HR pumped his fist in the air, "We did it, team! Next coffee round is on me!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, before Joe burst out with laughter, majority tinged with relief. All of them joined in and sincerely thanked Caitlin for her hard work during the surgery as they shuffled through to see Barry.

HR and Julian stayed behind, making their way to the pipeline as they opened the breacher's cell. There was one last thing to do...

"Lucky for you," Julian raised a brow, as the breacher looked at them expectantly, "the surgery went well and the Flash is fine."

He huffed, but secretly looked relieved. That meant he was able to go.

"Earth-19," HR nodded, pulling a tablet from behind his back "and if you try anything funny, I'm tracking your movements and sending Caitlin after you."

He gulped and nodded diligently, willing for a breach to open as the meta stepped out of his cell. Julian and HR watched him step through the blue wormhole, but it left a sour taste in Julian's mouth.

"I can't believe we're just letting him go," he sniffed.

"Well…" HR shrugged, "Not exactly."

Julian looked at him in question.

"I may have contacted Gypsy through Cisco's technology and alerted her that a certain evil breacher was being sent her way. She should be able to take care of it."

Julian laughed in amazement, "HR, you surprise me!"

He laughed and shrugged, "Sometimes, I even surprise myself! By the way, I didn't wanna ask in front of everyone you know, the family, but how did you get Barry's speed force cells activated again?"

"Caitlin had a serum from when Zoom took Barry's speed last year," Julian explained, reiterating what she had told him, "she had multiple mixtures, but she's been monitoring Barry's vitals for a few years, so she knew how to manipulate the cells. Took a few tries, but she did it."

HR walked side by side with him, "And that was it? It just worked?"

"God, no," Julian's gaze darkened, "When Allen was wheeled in, I thought he was bloody dead for sure. Did you see him? Caitlin uncovered a bullet wound to the leg that chipped bone, a massive cavity to the abdomen from the knife wound, and multiple contusions and dislocations. It was a miracle he even survived! I suspect Supergirl's team had proper care, or Barry would be in a body bag by now..."

"Nicely done," HR patted his should, "B.A. has got Snow to thank for all this, that's for us. I'll grab us all a round of double-shot espressos to celebrate!"

Julian laughed.

Alex closed her apartment door after a long day at the DEO. Supergirl, once again, kicked ass and saved the day by arresting an evil alien trying to wreak havoc on the city, "Maggie, I'm home!"

"Hey!" she heard her partner's reply, "There's mail for you!"

She shuffled through it tiredly, but her eyes settled on a certain parchment. It had no return address on it other than: _Earth-1._

She felt confused, but intrigued as well. Who did she know from…

Oh, that's right.

Barry Allen the Flash.

It had been nearly a month since the whole ordeal, and the memories still haunted her. None of them had gotten word from the speedster or his team, so they didn't want to assume the worse.

She opened it eagerly, her hands carefully observing the crinkles in the envelope. Winn hadn't reported any new breaches in the city, so she'd have to follow it up in the morning. How else could it have gotten there? Via multi-dimensional mail?

The letter read:

Dear, Alex:

I wanted to sincerely thank you for all the hard-work and care you put forth to take treat me in my time of need. In a strange world, disoriented, you were my light at the end of the tunnel, and I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. My family and friends wouldn't have known my location and everyday Joe never fails to remind me how kind and generous you were to have helped me. Please extend my regards to Kara and the rest of the team as well, as without them I wouldn't have been able to get home. I don't know how you did it, but you all truly worked a miracle that will not go amiss. Star Labs is committed to return the favor in any way you necessary and never forget that whenever you need we'll be there. I'm sorry I can't come in person, I'm still trying to get back on my feet. Caitlin worked a miracle surgery and we dealt with the meta-human once and for all. Besides, Wally is so eager to get back and see you guys, I don't know if he'll leave! Hopefully we can all meet again soon and I'll be able to formally thank you. If you ever need a hand in anything don't hesitate to call…I'll be there in a flash!

Deepest regards,

Barry Allen

She closed the letter, tears in her eyes. She felt laughter bubble at her lips as two emotions clashed.

"Hey!" Maggie had a smile on her face as she came in with wet hair from her shower. It immediately melted when she saw Alex crying, "Are you okay? Alex?"  
"Yes," she laughed once more, her hand wiping away the tears spilling down her cheeks, "Yes, I'm fine. Everything is perfectly fine."

In her world, you weren't able to say that often, but this time she meant it.

 **The End.**


End file.
